Jeane Francois Trani

Board member

Biography

Jean-Francois Trani investigates the intersection of mental health, disability, vulnerability and poverty with a focus on conducting field research that informs policy and service design for individuals living in conflict-affected fragile states and low-income countries. He is a member of the Prevention Research Center and the Social System Design Lab at the Brown School. Using the Capability Approach of Amartya Sen, Trani hypothesizes that lack of opportunity — or poor conversion factors — is linked to stigma of disability and other discriminated groups, which results in social exclusion and creates mental distress. He argues that efforts to improve the well-being of persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups must address the overlooked issue of stigma. Trani's research has contributed to policy papers of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Public Health in Afghanistan. He is an editor of ALTER, the European Journal of Disability Research and the Revue Tiers Monde. He is also a coordinator of the Health and Disability group at the Human Development and Capability Association. Trani’s teaching is linked to his professional experience in global health and international development, and he involves master and doctoral students in all phases of his research projects.

Publications

(1) Trani JF, Vasquez-Escallon J, Bakhshi P. Are Community Based Rehabilitation Program work? A propensity score analysis of a quasi-experiment in Afghanistan. (2) Trani JF, Yen BJ, Duncan A, Bakhshi P, Palmo T, Deshpande S. Perception of mental illness in New Delhi: propensity score analysis using a case control study. (3) Trani JF, Moodley J., Anand P., Graham L. and Maw M. Stigma of persons with disabilities in Soweto, South Africa. (4) Trani JF, Biggeri M and Mauro V. Access to school and employment for persons with disabilities in rural India: The role of a community-based rehabilitation program. (5) Bayetti C., Jain S., Mills C., Montenegro C., Kwon W., Bakshi P., J.F. Trani. Scaling up and global mental health. Critical Public Health. (6) Bakhshi P, Trani JF, Babulal G. Disability, poverty and schooling in post-civil war situation in Sierra Leone. (7) Bakhshi P & Trani JF. Disability and education in conflict/post-conflict contexts: Examining evidence from Sierra Leone, Darfur, Afghanistan. Manuscripts Under Review (8) Ravindranath D, Trani JF, Iannotti L. (review) Nutrition among children of migrant construction workers in Ahmedabad, India, Global Public Health. (9) Trani JF, Bakhshi P, Fowler P, Bakhshi P., Kumar P. (review). Assessment of progress in education for children and youth with disabilities in Afghanistan: a multilevel analysis of repeated crosssectional surveys. Plos One. Manuscripts in Print (10) Trani JF, Bakhshi P, Mozaffari A, Sohail M, Rawab H, Kaplan I, Ballard E, Hovmand P. (2019) Strengthening inclusion in learning through empowerment of rural school stakeholders in Pakistan and Afghanistan: Study protocol for community-based system dynamics. Research in Comparative and International Education (special issue). (11) Babulal G, Chen S, Ances B, Williams M, Trani JF, Bakhshi P, Chao G, Stout S, Fagan A, Benzinger T, Holtzman D, Morris J, Roe C. (2018) Depression and Alzheimer's Disease Biomarkers Predict Driving Decline. J Alzheimers Dis. 2018;66(3):1213-1221. 5 (12) Trani JF, Brown D, Bakhshi P, Lopez D, Gall F. (2018). Disability as deprivation of capabilities: Estimation using a large-scale survey in Morocco and Tunisia and an instrumental variable approach. Social Science & Medicine, Vol. 211, 48-60. (13) Trani JF. Bakhshi P, Babulal G. (2018). Education and disability in a conflict affected context: Are children with disabilities less likely to learn and be protected in Darfur? World Development. (14) Bakhshi P, Babulal G., Trani JF. (2017). Education in India: Why children with disabilities are left behind? Evidence from New Delhi. Plos One. (15) Trani JF, Kumar P., Ballard E, Chandola T. (2017). Healthcare access for users with disabilities in Afghanistan: A population based cross sectional time comparison study. Lancet Global Health Vol. 5, No8, e828-e837. (16) Trani JF, Bakhshi P, Lopez D, Gall F, Brown D (online). La situation socioéconomique des personnes en situation de handicap au Maroc et en Tunisie : Inégalités, cout et stigmatisation. Alter- European Journal of Disability Research. (17) Trani JF, Ballard E, Bakhshi P, Hovmand P (2016). Group model building as a method for understanding and acting on messy problems: A Case study for global mental health intervention in Afghanistan. Conflict and Health. 10: 25 (18) Trani JF, Khulberg J., Dilbal C, Cannings T (2016). Examining Multidimensional Poverty in Afghanistan: Who are the poorest of the poor? Oxford Development Studies, 44(2): 220-245. (19) Trani JF, Ballard E, Pena J (2016). Stigma, social exclusion and mental distress of persons with disabilities in Afghanistan. Social Science and Medicine, 153: 258-265. (20) Trani JF, Bakhshi P, Myer Tlapek S, Lopez D, Gall F (2015). Disability and Poverty in Morocco and Tunisia: A Social Justice Agenda. Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 16(4): 518-548 (21) Trani JF, Babulal GM, Bakhshi P. (2015). A 34-item disability screening questionnaire (DSQ-34) for use in low and middle-income countries epidemiological and development surveys: Validation in India and Nepal. Plos One. (22) Morrison, J., Colbourn, T., Budhathoki, B, Sen, A., Adhikari, D., Bamjan, J., Pathak, S., Basnet, A., Trani, JF, Costello, A., Manandhar, D Groce, N. (2015). Disabled women¹s attendance at community women¹s groups in rural Nepal. Health Promotion International, 1:11. (23) Babulal, GM, Bakhshi P, Kopriva S, Ali, SA, Goette SA, Trani JF. (2015). Measuring participation for persons with mental illness: Assessing relevance of existing scales for Low and Middle Income Countries. BMC Psychology, 3:36. (24) Trani JF, Bakhshi P, Kuhlberg J., Narayanan S.S., Venkataraman H., Mishra N., Groce N.E., Jadhav S., Deshpande S. (2015). Mental illness, poverty and stigma in India: A case control study, British Medical Journal Open. (25) Mauro V, Biggeri M, Deepak S, Trani JF (2014). The Effectiveness of Community based rehabilitation programs: An impact evaluation of a quasi-randomised trial. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health; 68: 1102-1108. (26) Biggeri M, Mauro V, Deepak S, Trani JF, Kumar J. and Ramasamy P. (2014). Do Community-based rehabilitation programmes promote the participation of persons with disabilities? A case control study from Mandya India. Disability & rehabilitation. 36(18): 1508-1517. (27) Trani JF, Cannings T. (2013). Child Poverty in an Emergency and Conflict Context: A Multidimensional Profile and an Identification of the Poorest Children in Western Darfur? World Development, 48:48-70. (28) Lompo K, Trani JF (2013). Development projects of petroleum companies in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria: beyond looking good, the real impact on community participation and human development. Journal of Human Development and Capabilities, 14(2): 241-265. (29) Trani JF & Bakhshi P (2013) Dimensions of vulnerability and mental health in Afghanistan: A cross sectional survey. Transcultural Psychiatry, 50:1. 108-139. (30) Trani JF, Biggeri M and Mauro V (2013). The Multidimensionality of Child Poverty: Evidence from Afghanistan. Social Indicators Research, 112:391–416. (31) Walker J, Frediani AA, Trani JF (2012). Gender, difference and urban change: implications for the promotion of well-being? Environment & Urbanization , 25(1): 1-14. (32) Trani JF, Barbou des Courieres C. (2012). Measuring equity in disability and healthcare utilisation in Afghanistan. Medicine, Conflict and Survival, 28:3, 219-246. (33) Trani JF, Bakhshi P, Nandipati A (2012). “Delivering” Education; Maintaining Inequality. The case of children with disabilities in Afghanistan. Cambridge Journal of Education, 42(3): 345-366. (34) Shattuck P, Roux AM, Hudson LE, Lounds Taylor J, Maenner MJ, Trani JF. (2012). Services for Adults with an Autism Spectrum Disorder. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 57(5):284-91. (35) Groce N, Bailey N, Lang R, Trani JF, Kett M (online 06/11). Water and Sanitation Issues for Persons with Disabilities in Low and Middle-Income Countries: A literature review and discussion of implications for global health and international development. Journal of Water and Health. (36) Trani JF, Browne J, Kett M, Bah O, Morlai T, Bailey N, Groce N (2011). Health and reproductive health of people with disabilities: a cross sectional study in Sierra Leone. Social Science and Medicine, 73(10): 1477–1489. 6 (37) Trani JF, Kett M, Bakhshi P and Bailey N (2011). Disability, vulnerability and citizenship: To what extent is education a protective mechanism for children with disabilities in countries affected by conflict? International Journal of Inclusive Education, 15(10): 1187-1203. (38) Trani JF, Bakhshi P, Rolland C (2011) Capabilities, perception of well-being and development effort: Some evidence from Afghanistan. Oxford Development Studies, 39(4): 403-426. (39) Groce N, Bailey N, Lang R, Kett M, Trani JF (2011). Disability and poverty: The Need for a More Nuanced Understanding of Implications for Development Policy and Practice. Third World Quarterly, 32(8): 1493-1513. (40) Biggeri M, Bellanca N and Trani JF (2011). Editorial: Rethinking policies for disabled persons through the Capability Approach: The case of Tuscany region. Alter- European Journal of Disability Research. Special issue. 5(3): 139-142. (41) Trani JF, Bakhshi P, Bellanca N, Biggeri M and Marchetta F (2011). Disabilities through the Capability Approach lens: Implications for public policies. Alter, European Journal of Disability Research. 5(3): 143-157. (42) Lang R, Kett M, Groce N and Trani JF (2011). Disability, the Capability Approach and human rights: the next steps in disability studies and practice. European Journal of Disability Research. 5(3): 206-220. (43) Trani, J. F., & Loeb, M. (2010). Poverty and disability: A vicious circle? Evidence from Afghanistan and Zambia. Journal of International Development, 24, S19–S52. (44) Kett M and Trani JF (2010). Vulnerability and disability in Darfur. Forced Migration Review 35: 12- 14. (45) Trani JF, Bakhshi P, Noor A, Lopez D, Mashkoor A (2010). Poverty, vulnerability, and provision of healthcare in Afghanistan. Social Science and Medicine, 70: 1745-1755. (46) Groce N, Trani JF (2009). Millennium Development Goals and Persons with Disabilities. The Lancet, 374(9704): 1800. (47) Trani JF (2009). Screening children for disability. The Lancet, 374(9704): 1806-07. (48) Kett M, Lang M, Trani JF (2009). Introduction: Disability, development and the dawning of a new convention: A cause for optimism? Journal of International Development, 21(5): 649-661. (49) Dubois JL, Trani JF (2009). Enlarging the Capability Paradigm to Address the Complexity of Disability, European Journal of Disability Research, 3(3): 2-28. (50) Trani JF, Bakhshi P, Noor AA, Mashkoor A (2009). Building a disability strategy in Afghanistan: a capabilities approach to research challenges and policy implications, European Journal of Development Research, 21(2): 297-319. (51) Trani JF, Bakhshi P (2008). Challenges for assessing disability prevalence: the case of Afghanistan. European Journal of Disability Research, 2(1): 44-64. (52) Trani JF, Bakhshi P (2007). Household survey: a relevant tool for gathering information on disability? Journal for Disability and International Development, 2: 13-24. (53) Bakhshi P, Trani JF (2007). Conducting a survey for disabled people in Afghanistan: field challenges and methodological answers [in French], STATECO, 101: 81-98.